Street-car signal.



A. WILLIAMS & H. N. STRAIT.

STREET CAR SIGNAL.

' APPLICATIQN FILED APR. 3. l9l6. Lf 5. Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

Y 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

,/'Ch \2\ o l Nr "`T"`- J l D l A. WILLIAMS da H. N. STRAIT.

STREET CAR SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3| 1916. 9245,41 5. Patented Nov. 6, 19W.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. T- EE- Wl TNE SSE 8:

UNTTED sTATns PATENT onnion AMOS WILLIAMS, O1?` KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, AND HORATIO N. STRAIT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI; SAID WILLIAMS ASSIGNOR T0 HENRY S. JULIAN, 0F KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

STREET-cnn SIGNAL.

. Patented Nov. o, 1917.

Application filed April 3, 1916. Serial No. 88,672.

To all whom t may concern: f

Be it known that we, AMos WILLIAMS, of Kansas City, in the county of Vyandotte and State of Kansas, and Horario N. STRAIT, of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Car Signals, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to street car signals, and my object is to provide a warning signal to be displayed at the rear of the car and under the control of the conductor, so that when the latter opens the doors of the rear vestibule to allow passengers to leave the car, said signal will be thrown to operative position and warn the passengers against passing directly back of the car toward the adjacent track upon which a car may be approaching from the opposite direction.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear and in order that said invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: v 4

Figure 1 is a broken horizontal sectional view of the rear portion of a car equipped with the signal.

Fig. 2 is a broken elevation of the rear portion of the car provided with the signal.

Fig. 3 is a detail section, enlarged, on line ITI-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section on line f.' of `Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is al horizontal section of a modified form of the invention.

Referring now in detail to the diiferent parts, 1 designates the rear vestibule of a car equipped with folding entrance and exit doors 2 and 3, respectively, which, when open, occupy the dotted position disclosed by Fig. 1. A folding step 4 is provided adjacent the doors 2 and 3, for the convenience of passengers entering and leaving the car.

The doors 2 and 3 are mounted upon pintles 5 and 6, provided with cranks 7 and 8, controlled by pull rods 9 and 10, connected to cranks 11 and 12, respectively, iXedlymounted upon the lower portion of a vertically-arranged main shaft 13.

Said main shaft 13 is journaled in a tubular stanchion 14 and provided at its upper end with a crank handle 15, arranged within easy reach of the conductor, who stands Within a railing 16, secured to the upper portion ofthe stanchion 14 and the adjacent wall of the car. The folding step 4 is mounted in any suitable manner and provided with a crank 17, connected to a pull rod 18, which is connected to a crank 19 Xedly-mounted upon the main shaft 13.

2O designates a short vertical shaft journaled in a bearing 21, secured to one of the floor beams 22, as disclosed by Figs. 2 and 3. Mounted upon the shaft 2O is a signal blade 23, which is reinforced by a rod 24 also secured to said shaft 20. The shaft 20 is actuated by a crank 25, fiXedly-secured at one end to said shaft and pivotally-connected at its opposite end to one end of a connecting rod 26, which in turn is pivotally-connected at its opposite end to a clip 27, clamped upon the pull rod 9.

As disclosed by the drawings, all working parts of the mechanism, except the -main shaft 13 and the crank handle 15, are arranged beneath the floor of the vestibule 1, where they are out of the way and not liable to be damaged.

With the mechanism arranged and connected as above described, it is apparent that when the car stops and the conductor rotates the crank handle 15 to the dotted position, Fig. 1, to open the doors 2 and 3, so that passengers may leave the car, the signal blade 23 is swung outwardly into view to warn said passengers and others from passing directly behind the vestibule and possibly in front of a car approaching from the opposite direction.

The modified form, Fig. 5, discloses a simple arrangement whereby the signal may be actuated independently of the rear vestibule doors. Referring in detail to the parts disclosed by Fig. 5, 1a designates the rear vestibule of the car, 15a a crank handle, 13a the main shaft upon which said crank handle is mounted, 11a a crank fixed to the lower portion of the shaft- 13a, 26a a connecting rod pivoted at one end to the crank 11a and at its opposite end to a crank 25a, which is mounted upon a short shaft 20a carrying the signal blade 23a. By rotating the handle 15a in one direction the blade 23a is swung outward to the operative position shown, and by rotating said handle in an opposite direction the blade is swung to inoperative position beneath the vestibule 1a.

Other modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the claims may be Ina-de.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In combination With a. car and its door controllingl means, a signal blade operably mounted at one end of said car, and means operably-connecting said door controlling means andthe signal blade, whereby the latter is actuated b y the former when the car doors are opened or closed.

2. In combination With; a car and its door controlling means, a signal blade pivoted at one end of said; car, a crank for actuating said signal blade, anda connecting rod pivotally-connected to said crank and thel door controlling means so that when the latter and close the doors said signal blade Will be swung to operative and inoperative positions, respectively.

8. In combination With a car and its rear vestibule doors, cranks Jfor actuating said doors, pull rods for actuating said cranks, other cranks for actuating the pull rods, a Vertical main shaft upon which the lastmentioned cranks are mounted, a crank handle for rotating' said main shaft, a blade pvoted beneath the vestibule, and nie-ans oper ably-connecting said blade to one of the pull rods whereby when the doors are opened and closed the blade will be thrown toopera-tive and inoperative positions.

In. testimony whereof. We aflix our signatures,v in the presence of two Witnesses.

AMOS IVILLIAMS.

HORATIO N. STRAITn IVitnesses l: f

ABEL PAGET, E. J. SHANNAHAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing` the "Commissioner of Patent' Washington, D. C. 

